RALEIGH - Police across the Triangle and Triad had nearly a dozen outstanding arrest warrants dating to 2000 for Randel Riggsbee Jr. of Chapel Hill. But it doesn't seem he was trying to hide.

When a Wake sheriff's deputy spotted Riggsbee, 32, last week, he was tooling around in a pink Mercury Grand Marquis with shiny rims and a license plate that had a picture of a kitty cat wearing a red bow on its head.

Riggsbee led state Highway Patrol troopers and Wake County deputies at high speeds on Interstate 40 through much of Wake County on the morning of March 2, before being stopped and arrested in a wooded area near Airport Boulevard.

After the chase, the Wake County Sheriff's Office filed a shopping list of charges against Riggsbee of 503 Sykes St. in Chapel Hill. Among the charges are speeding to elude arrest; simple worthless check; damage to property; hit and run; driving while license revoked; resisting arrest and giving fictitious information to an officer. The tint on the windows of the pink Mercury was also in violation.

Fleeing arrest is not new to Riggsbee. His 29-page criminal history shows a previous conviction for felony fleeing to elude arrest - along with numerous drug and obstruction convictions in Wake, Chatham, Orange and Alamance counties.

He has outstanding warrants in Wake, Durham, Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties, records show. And his driver's license was permanently revoked in 2008.

The chase began about 8:45 a.m. when a Wake sheriff's deputy stopped the pink Mercury for a traffic violation at Jones Sausage Road and U.S. 70, according to the Sheriff's Office. When the deputy approached the car on foot, the driver sped off, the Sheriff's Office said.

The driver continued on U.S. 70 to I-40 and headed west toward Research Triangle Park. The Highway Patrol joined the pursuit, which reached speeds in excess of 85 mph.

Riggsbee's front left tire was punctured when he ran over devices set out by the Highway Patrol, but he kept driving. He took the exit ramp to Airport Boulevard, where he lost control and hit a Jeep, according to the Highway Patrol. He ran into the woods, where he was quickly caught and apprehended. Riggsbee tossed more than $22,000 in cash just before he was arrested, according to a search warrant that was made public on Friday.

Deputies suspected the money was evidence of illegal drug activity and got a warrant to search Riggsbee's car but did not seize anything from it, court records show.

He was released from the Wake County jail about five hours after he was taken into custody after posting a $148,150 bond, a jail spokesman said Friday.

News researcher

Brooke Cain contributed

to this report.